Korean J Otorhinolaryngol-Head Neck Surg.  2007 Sep;50(9):784-788.

Effect of Macrolide on the MUC4 Gene Expression in Human Airway Epithelial Cells

• Woo HJ
• Lee SC
• Choi YS
• Choi SW
• Kim MH
• Jeon BS
• Song SY
• Kim YD
• Bai CH

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Mucin gene expression and mucin secretion are highly increased by inflammatory airway diseases such as asthma, chronic bronchitis and rhinosinusitis. Macrolide antibiotics is considered one of the effective drugs inhibiting mucus secretion for chronic bronchitis and rhinosinusitis with nasal polyp. However, the anti-secretory effect of macrolide is not clear. This study was designed to investigate whether macrolide can suppress interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta)-induced MUC4 gene expression and mucin secretion in the cultured human nasal polyp epithelial cells and NCI-H292 epithelial cells.
SUBJECTS AND METHOD
Nasal polyps were obtained from 20 patients with chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyp during endoscopic sinus surgery. We observed the effect of roxithromycin on the IL-1beta-induced MUC4 gene and mucin secretion by reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) with enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method.
RESULTS
Roxithromycin attenuated the IL-1beta-induced MUC4 mRNA expression and mucin secretion with a dose dependent pattern in both of the cultured human nasal polyp epithelial cells and NCI-H292 epithelial cells.
CONCLUSION
This result suggests that roxithromycin may be considered as an effective anti-hypersecretory agent for its down-regulation of the MUC4 gene.

Keyword

MUC4; Mucin; Roxithromycin

MeSH Terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Asthma
Bronchitis, Chronic
Down-Regulation
Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay
Epithelial Cells*
Gene Expression*
Humans*
Interleukin-1beta
Mucins
Mucus
Nasal Polyps
RNA, Messenger
Roxithromycin
Anti-Bacterial Agents
Interleukin-1beta
Mucins
RNA, Messenger
Roxithromycin